June 13, 2006

Here is an article from the business world that shows the importance of being careful of what you say and how you say it. It compares the speaking style of current chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben S. Bernanke with that of former chairman Alan Greenspan.

The piece suggests that Bernanke has struggled because he does not speak "Greenspanese," which is "a well-understood code for signaling the Fed's next rate decision." Bernanke, on the other hand, is more explicit and direct in his statements, which can sometimes make investors overreact.

While Bernanke's approach may be considered bad for the Reserve, it is a much better approach than Greenspan's when it comes to Christianity. We do not need some secret insider code-talk, or "Christianese." We need to be open, upfront, and able to speak in a way that anyone can understand (which, if you ever listened to Greenspan, is something he was not good at).